In Focus: Shifting alliances Egypt, Turkey and Iran together hold the key to regional stability, argues Galal Nassar We live in an age of massive political and economic entities: the United States, NATO, the EU and G8. And yet the Arab world today stands divided, threatened by division into sectarian mini-states, be they Shia, Sunni, Coptic, Kurdish, Berber or back. Wars would then follow, with each mini-state looking for backers among the international powers. NAFTA in Latin America and the African Union are attempting to break into the big league, along with the Arab League, the Organisation of the Islamic Conference, OPEC, ASEAN, and the African-Asian G24. Most, though, remain ineffective groupings. Egypt could still ally itself with neighbouring states such as Turkey and Iran. The idea is worth trying. Egypt and Turkey have a long common history, dating back to the early 16th century. Egypt was the jewel in the crown of the Ottoman caliphate, just as India was for the British Empire. Because of its rigid administration and methods of forced labour, the Ottoman Empire lost its vigour over time. Mohamed Ali tried to revive the empire by creating a modern state in Egypt. Iran, too, is an old ally. The royal families of both countries were united by marriage at one point. The two nations appreciate each other's intellectual legacy, including the poetry of Omar Khayyam, Ibn Al-Rumi and Mohamed Iqbal. Egypt's nationalisation of the Suez Canal in 1956 echoed Iranian Mohamed Mosaddaq's 1954 nationalisation of oil. The two countries drifted apart when Egypt forged close ties with the US and made peace with Israel and relations worsened following the Islamic revolution. According to recently released documents, Yasser Arafat went to Tehran following the signing of the Camp David accords to complain that Egypt had sold Palestine to Israel and signed a secret deal along with the peace treaty. Arafat called on Iran to take a firm stand against Egypt. Ayatollah Khomeini responded by severing diplomatic ties with Cairo. At one point Egypt must have harboured fears of Iran exporting its revolution. Such fears have been misplaced. The Iranian revolution may have established velayat e- faqih, a form of theocracy, but it also espouses an ideology of self-criticism which is a form of free expression. Also, Iran has never ventured beyond its Shia boundaries, which has kept it isolated from the rest of the Islamic world. Iran's revolution should not be seen as a threat to the Arab world, nor should Arab nationalism be seen as a threat to Iran. Arab nationalism believes in building bridges with non-Arab Muslim countries. Egypt, Iran and Turkey have a combined population of over 200,000 million people, a figure close to that of Europe or the US. Egypt has friends in other parts of the Arab world and Africa while Turkey and Iran can find allies in central Asia, including Pakistan, Afghanistan, Indonesia, and Malaysia. Together these countries have oil, industry, markets and a common culture. Should these countries form one bloc they would be able to defend the Palestinians, defuse tensions in the region and maintain good Sunni-Shia rapport. Turkey would drift away from Israel, just as it is beginning to distance itself from the US. Turkey is capable of inventing a new model for development and progress, one that is in line with Attaturk's legacy. And Egypt would be able to break away from its reliance on the West and the US. The new bloc would be in a position to restore the independence and unity of Iraq. It would be able to defend Syria against Israeli and US threats and encourage reconciliation in Lebanon, Sudan, and Somalia. Such an alliance should not be based on religion or common history alone but on cultural bonds among the countries involved. Turkey has refused to let US troops invade Iraq from its territories and it is starting to distance itself from Israel. If Egypt, Turkey and Iran get together they would be able to resolve the problems of the Iskandarun province on the Syrian-Turkish borders, the Kurdish problem on the Iraqi- Turkish border, water sharing and other territorial disputes. The tide of moderate Islam can be used to bring about cooperation and cohesion. It could end the pettiness of Sunni-Shia differences, defuse border tensions, resolve the dispute between Syria and Turkey over the PKK, end 25 years of tensions between Cairo and Tehran, put to rest any Iranian fears of a US strike and assuage Gulf fears of nuclear threats and Iranian ideology. Cooperation between Egypt, Turkey and Iran would restore balance to the region and protect it from sectarian and ethnic strife. The establishment of a Sunni alliance in Asia and Africa could help contain the Shia tide in Iraq and bring the Palestinian issue to the fore once again. The region would have a better chance of freeing itself from Western domination. This is the age of big groupings, a time of great strategies, where one idea can change forever the fate of nations.
